Depression Can Be Treated With Magnets, Research Finds

The procedure doesn’t require anaesthesia or sedation, taking around 40 minutes per session.

The procedure doesn’t require anaesthesia or sedation, taking around 40 minutes per session.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is an effective long-term treatment for depression, research finds.

TMS involves stimulating the brain using magnetic fields.

Magnetic pulses are directed towards the left prefrontal cortex, to stimulate areas of the brain linked to depression.

The pulses help to excite neurons at the site of stimulation and in other connected areas of the brain.

The magnetic pulses are similar to those used for MRI brain scans.

TMS has been cleared by the US Food and Drug Administration since 2008.

However, this is one of the first studies to look at its long-term effect.

Professor Philip G. Janicak, who led the study, said:

“This is the only prospective, maintenance, follow-up study which assesses the durability of acute TMS benefit in patients with major depression.”

Magnetic brain stimulation is a lot less scary than it sounds.

It doesn’t require anaesthesia or sedation, taking around 40 minutes per session.

People typically have it daily over 4 to 6 weeks.

Professor Janicak, who led the study, said:

“The results of the follow-up study further support TMS as a viable treatment option for patients with major depression who have not responded to conventional antidepressant medications.

After acute response to TMS, a standardized regimen of antidepressant medication maintained the acute benefit in the majority of patients over a six-month period.”

The study was published in the journal Brain Stimulation (Janicak et al., 2010).

Network brain image from Shutterstock


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Hello, and welcome to PsyBlog. Thanks for dropping by.

This site is all about scientific research into how the mind works.

It’s mostly written by psychologist and author, Dr Jeremy Dean.

I try to dig up fascinating studies that tell us something about what it means to be human.

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Author: Jeremy Dean

Psychologist, Jeremy Dean, PhD is the founder and author of PsyBlog. He holds a doctorate in psychology from University College London and two other advanced degrees in psychology. He has been writing about scientific research on PsyBlog since 2004. He is also the author of the book "Making Habits, Breaking Habits" (Da Capo, 2013) and several ebooks.